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Dear members,
Welcome to the Summer edition of the
ARAI Newsletter.
It has been a very busy year for the ARAI
so far. In March at the AGM there were a
number of changes to the committee, in
addition to my becoming Chairperson, I
was joined by Vera Orschel as Honorary
Secretary, Sarah Poutch as Training Officer
and Ross Higgins as Outreach Officer.
Following the AGM, Julie Brooks joined the
committee as our new Regional
Representative. Julie is working jointly with
Mary Mackey in this role until the next
AGM. I would like to acknowledge and
thank Cecile Chemin, Pauline Swords,
Harriet Wheelock and Lisa Dolan for their
hard work and I hope that we will continue
to make the ARAI as successful and
meaningful to the archive community as
they did.
The biggest item on the archives agenda
has of course been the proposed merger
of the National Archives and National
Manuscripts Commission into the National
Library. The ARAI has been working with
fellow archive bodies and professionals to
oppose this. In addition to our letter to the
Irish Times in June, we also met with
Senator Jillian Van Turnhout, who with
fellow Senator Fiach Mac Conghail, gave a
very good and well informed speech to the
Seanad on the matter. The current
situation with the merger is that the
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the
Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, has given his
report on the issue to the Department of
Expenditure and Reform and that no
decision will be made on the merger
before September. We will continue to
monitor the situation and will keep
members informed of any developments
in this matter.
This year’s Archive Awareness Campaign
will be launched on Thursday, 16 August
in Newman House, St Stephen’s Green.
We are honoured to have Mr Gerald
Nash TD, Chair of the Joint Oireachtas
Sub-Committee for Culture to launch this
year’s campaign. If anyone would like
leaflets or posters for the campaign
please contact Ross at [email protected].
On the 13 September we will be having
our annual joint training event with the
Information and Records Management
Society. The theme of this years event is
‘Appraisal and Retention Schedules’ and
will be held in the Irish Architectural
Archive in Dublin. Further details of this
training event will be circulated to all
members in August.
The Summer Business meeting was held
in the Royal Irish Academy on 19 July and
I would like to thank the RIA for the use
of the room for this. The next Business
meeting will be on Friday 12 October,
A Word from the Chair
Inside this issue:
A word from the Chair 1
‘Gleanings from the
Archives’ Exhibition
Opened
2
Registration Scheme
Workshop
3
The Battle of Culloden
from the PRONI
Archives
4
Training Officer’s
Report
7
The Preservation of
Our Photographic
Heritage
7
The Historic Calendars
Project at the James
Hardiman Library, NUI
8
Regional
Representative’s
report
9
Thompson
Engineering, Hanover
Works, Carlow
10
An introduction to the
Staples family of
Lissan House
12
1932 Eucharistic
Congress Exhibition
13
UK Premiere of
Ground Zero 360°
PRONI
15
Archive Awareness 17
Merrion Square 250 18
Newsletter Summer 2012
Newsletter Summer 2012
Newsletter Date
Page 2 Newsletter Summer 2012
and we are also planning a training day to coincide with
this meeting, further details to follow.
With so much planned for the rest of 2012 I look forward
to seeing you all at the Archive Awareness launch on 16
August, the training days on 13 September and 12
October, and at the Business Meeting too. Emails about
events and developments in the archives sector will
continue to be sent to you, as well as being posted
on our Facebook page and on our website,
www.learnaboutarchives.ie
Enjoy the rest of the summer.
Hazel Menton,
Chair, ARA,I
Galway County Council ‘Gleanings from the Archives’
Exhibition Opened
Mr Phil Hogan, T.D., Minister for the Environment,
Community and Local Government, launched a
Gleanings from the Archives exhibition in Loughrea
Library on 1st June, 2012. The aim of the display is to
highlight Galway County Council’s archives, and in a very
small way to illustrate and celebrate the authority’s work
and achievements. The 15 bi-lingual display panels give
just a glimpse of the material held in the Archives.
A set of the panels is on permanent display in Galway
County Council’s County Hall in Prospect Hill, Galway, in
locations dotted around the Council Chamber. The
exhibition in Loughrea ran from 1st – 12th June, and will
also run in the Oranmore Library during Heritage Week
in August. The panels are also available for viewing on
the Archives web site at http://www.galway.ie/en/
Services/ArchivesService/Exhibition/.
The exhibition is wide in its coverage, with some panels,
featuring extracts from Council minutes, focusing on
Galway County Council’s early years. They document the
changes in political attitudes in the first 20 years or so
following its establishment, which was an important,
exciting and troubled time for the county and country.
Other panels, with maps, drawings and correspondence
featured focus on the authority’s core functions, such as
the provision of housing, water supply and infrastructure
such as bridges and piers, and also the provision of
a library and archive service. The highlighted
records which generally pre-date the 1970s are
informative, interesting, and easy to read. Among
them are a 1821 drawing of the County Infirmary,
formerly on the site of the current day áras an
Chontae on Prospect Hill, Galway, a 1947 blueprint
for a water pump in Aughrim, a drawing of and
correspondence relating to the construction of a
new bridge in Claregalway in 1956, and
photographs of the Council’s first Chairman, Col.
John P Nolan, and first County Librarian, Mr
Samuel Maguire.
Mr Phil Hogan, T.D., Minister for the Environment,
Community and Local Government, reviews the exhibition
with Patria McWalter, Archivist, Galway County Council
Archives
Minister Hogan opens the exhibition, left to right, Cllr Michael
Maher, Mayor of County Galway, Patria McWalter, Archivist,
Galway County Council Archives, Minister Hogan, Cllr Jimmy
Curley, Mayor of Loughrea.
The documents shown only illustrate a tiny
proportion of the Archives holdings, and the
diverse work, functions and responsibility of Galway
County Council. Nonetheless, it is hoped that the
display will highlight the existence, value,
importance, and use of the archives to the general
public and to all interested researchers.
www.galway.ie/en/Services/ArchivesService/
Patria McWalter
Galway County Council Archivist
Page 3 Newsletter Summer 2012
Registration Scheme Workshop:
Coming to Ireland in 2013
Are you a candidate on the ARA Registration Scheme,
or thinking of enrolling?
Are you a mentor to a Registration Scheme candidate
or would you be willing to take on that rewarding role?
If your answer to any of those question is ‘Yes’, then
this FREE HALF DAY WORKSHOP is for you!
The workshop is planned for Dublin in Spring of 2013
and will be led by members of the Registration Sub
Committee who manage the Registration Scheme on
behalf of the ARA.
The workshop will provide an opportunity to:
Find out about the Registration Scheme. Why do
it? What are the personal and professional
benefits? What does it involve? How long does
it take?
Learn about the role of mentor? Who is eligible?
What does it involve? How best to support your
candidate.
Explore the four development areas: formal
training, study and research, work achievements,
contributions to the profession and find out what
is required in each area
Work through producing your Learning Outcome
Forms; what are the important things to include,
what are the common mistakes?
View successful portfolios and sample Learn-
ing Outcome Forms
Exchange thoughts and ideas with other can-
didates and mentors
Ask the team any questions that you have and
pick up useful tips from the Assessors.
The maximum attendance for the workshop is 20.
Contact Kate Jarman, the Registration Scheme event
organiser, to register your interest in attending and
receive updates on the date and venue as they are
finalised. If you are willing to host this workshop in
or near Dublin, please also contact Kate at: reg-
We look forward to seeing you there!
Tricia Phillips
ARA Registrar
D2924 is the archive of Sir John (later Lord)
Rawdon. Sir John Rawdon was from a landed
gentry family in County Down, Ireland and from
1750, an Irish peer. D2924/1 is a volume of
letters written and received by the Rawdon
family from 1722 to c.1800. In the volume there
are letters relating to the advance of the
Jacobite army into England. For example, in the
letter dated 9th November 1745, Henry Hastings
writes to Sir John Rawdon that the “Rebels are
marching Southwards towards Carlisle, which
place they probably may have reached by this
time” (page 3) and later in the letter “I am told
6000 of our troops are ordered to march towards
Lancaster and Northwards” (page 4). On 16th
November 1745, Henry Hastings then writes
again, stating “The Rebels march Southwards is
looking upon as a desperate step. Something was
to be undertaken, to quiet the Rebel army & this
march was resolved upon. Most that are still
engaged in this affair, now wish they never
had” (page 6).
Henry Hastings writes regular letters to Sir John
Rawdon relaying information regarding the
advance of the Jacobite army, for example into
Carlisle (19th November 1745), the arrival of the
Jacobite army in Derby (4th December 1745)
and leaving Wigan for Preston (17th December
1745). The Jacobite army then decided to return
to Scotland and join up with the growing
numbers of Jacobites in the north. In a letter
from the Earl of Egmont to Sir John Rawdon
(24th January 1746), he writes of the defeat of
General Hawley by the Jacobite army at the
Battle of Falkirk. “… & tho he had 2000 men
more than they, was defeated with the loss of
300, occasioned by the employing again the two
Regiments of dragoons, Humbletons & Gardiners,
who ran away again & disordered our Foot. Our
Canon was taken & Lieut Col. Whiting killed…”
This volume of correspondence (D2924/1)
contains further letters on the Jacobite Rising
and is considered a valuable historical source.
Further, the archive T1839/1 (Lord Rawdon
correspondence from 1722-c.1800) holds a copy
of the volume of letters discussed above and is
held in negative Photostat format.
As a Scot working in the Public Record Office of
Northern Ireland (PRONI), I was interested to find
out what archives if any, were held relating to the
Battle of Culloden. This interest was ignited by a
recent visit to the Culloden Battlefield visitor centre
(run by the National Trust for Scotland) on the
outskirts of Inverness and the information I
discovered.
The Jacobite Rising of 1745: The Legacy?
The Battle of Culloden, fought on 16th April 1746
has inspired many people such as authors,
songwriters and military historians to write, sing
and debate the circumstances before, during and
after the Highland conflict. The battle has imprinted
itself into Scottish folklore and arguably national
identity as being a massacre perpetrated by the
English, however, the reality of the battle is
different.
The Government army, of King George II, was led by
one of his sons, Prince William Augustus aka the
Duke of Cumberland and comprised of (mainly)
English, Scottish (Lowlanders and Highlanders), Irish
(from Ulster), Germans and Austrians. The Jacobite
army, led by “Bonnie Prince Charlie” aka “The
Pretender/The Young Pretender” was mainly
Scottish (Lowlanders and Highlanders) but also
contained Irish, French and English. The
composition of the armies reflected the European
socio-economics and political divisions of the time.
This article is not intended to discuss the
circumstances of the battle or Scottish folklore/
national identity. Instead it highlights the private
archives held in the Public Record Office of
Northern Ireland (PRONI) that relate to the Battle of
Culloden. It is a record of people from the time held
in the PRONI archives which allow an insight into
the event before, during and after the battle. These
archives may be considered an invaluable research
resource and are outlined below. All the records
discussed are open and available to the public and
may be viewed in PRONI.
The Jacobite Rising of 1745: The Advance South.
Page 4 Newsletter Summer 2012
The Jacobite Rising of 1745: The Battle of Culloden from
the PRONI Archives
The Jacobite Rising of 1745: The Battle of
Culloden.
The Perceval family papers (1679-1910) are held in the
archive under PRONI reference, D906. The Perceval
family were Dublin gentry whose professions included
legal and academic positions. Held within this archive
is D906/85, a letter to the Reverend Mr Kane Percevall
in the Parish of St Michans, Dublin dated 26th April
1746. The letter is from George Brereton who wrote
from the camp at Inverness after the Battle of
Culloden. In the letter, Brereton writes that “…as a
small acknowledgement give you as true and perfect an
acct of our own late Glorious Victory gained over the
rebels of the 16 instant as I can on the Moor of
Culloden.”
Brereton writes “The night before the action the rebels
came within a mile of Our Camp wch
was about 6 or 7
miles from the place of Action; but on their hearing we
were under Arms wch
by the by was false for we did not
hear of their approach till the next day/ they returned to
their former Ground.” (page 1, Plate Y). Brereton
mentions the failed Jacobite night march to Nairn to
attack the Duke of Cumberland’s army. This was the
tactic employed for the Jacobite victory at
Prestonpans. However, the Jacobites having marched
overnight eventually returned to their camp a few
hours before the Battle of Culloden began.
Of the Battle, Brereton writes “...the rebels did not fire
till they come within twenty yards of us, then fired [ ]
with great fury, and thought to breake us; but our men
kept their fire till they come within 4 paces of us then
poured their ball into their very bosom; and cut them
down like grapeshot from canon: those [ ] remained
they received on the points of their bayonets…..” (page
2)
After the battle, Brereton writes that the soldiers “…
pursued the rebels who could not stand and before pm
for about three miles, not sparing a man no not the
wounded: tho devised by the Gen Jeffe those were killed
on the field of battle about 1800 and about half the
number in the pursuit. We have now about a thousand
prisoners with almost all the French a great number of
whome surrendered themselves the morning of the
Action…..” (page 2).
The reference to Gen Jeffe may relate to Lt. Col.
Charles Jeffreys who commanded the 34th
Cholmondley’s Foot in the First Brigade Unit on
the front line of the Duke of Cumberland’s Army.
This four-page letter gives a first hand account of
what a soldier fighting for the Duke of
Cumberland experienced as the Jacobite’s
advanced over the moor. The front page of the
letter is shown in Plate Y.Plate Y. Front Page of
George Brereton Letter dated 26th April 1746 (D906/85)
The Perceval-Maxwell papers, County Down and
County Monaghan (1640-1858) are held in
T1023. Interestingly, this archive is related to
D906 (the Perceval archive) as the Perceval family
married into the Maxwell family. Held within this
archive is T1023/33/1 which is a mounted copy
of a letter sent on the 21st April 1746 from a
soldier, Edward Maxwell at the camp at Inverness
to Robert Maxwell of Finnebrogue, County
Down. The letter describes the battle and
discusses the Duke of Cumberland’s army as
having “as near as we can guess 2000 kills, & we
have 700 or 800 prisoners besides the French, in
short they were entirely routed, & so frightened,
that I believe they will never attempt to
reassemble….”(page 2).
The Jacobite Rising of 1745: The Aftermath.
The D. McLaughlin solicitor papers are held in
D2738 (1762- c.1940). Held within this archive is
the Commonplace book of Alexander Matthews
Page 5 Newsletter Summer 2012
(D2738/5/6) which contains genealogical notes,
religious writing and poetry, c.1862-1879. Within this
book is a genealogical note (page 3) that highlights
ancestors of Alexander Matthews “(the late John
Matthews) had emigrated to Ireland shortly ... days that
followed the Battle of Culloden...” Unfortunately, this
page is damaged and the full text is missing. It does
however, indicate that Highland people were
emigrating due to (perhaps) fear over their safety or
they considered it a wise economic move; given that
the Duke of Cumberland was encamped at Inverness
and undertaking a sweep of the Highlands to round
up Jacobites, their sympathisers and confiscate their
property.
T3019 is the archive of Sir Robert Wilmot, the 1st
Baronet of Osmaston Hall, Derby and Secretary to the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1740 to 1772. Held in
T3019/741 is a letter dated 24th
April 1746 from J.
Potter at Dublin Castle to Sir Robert Wilmot in which
it mentions “We have this day an account of the entire
defeat of the rebels and the taking the Pretender's son
the 16th”. Within approximately a week of the Battle,
the news of the Jacobite defeat had spread to Dublin
and probably many other European countries for
example France, who had supported the Jacobite
cause.
The archive D323/1 is a printed plan of order of the
Battle of Culloden c. 1750 (Plate X). This plan was
printed by the publisher, Charles Corbet of Fleet
Street “according to the Act of Parliament of 1746”.
This ‘1746 Act’ is the Act of Proscription 1746. This
was a series of measures to dismantle the Highland
clan system and Jacobite resistance. For example, the
“Dress Act” that made the wearing of Highland dress
and tartan illegal.
Corbett’s printed plan of the order of the Battle of Culloden, c.
1750 (D323/1)
The plan highlights the order on the battlefield of
the ‘Duke of Cumberland’s’ and ‘The Pretender’s’
Regiments. Interestingly, the number of soldiers
that made up each regiment is given only for the
Jacobite army; this in combination with a comment
on their battle orders (Plate X). The archive T591/1
also holds a copy of the printed plan of order of
the Battle of Culloden in negative Photostat
format.
The Jacobite Rising of 1745: The Legacy.
The archives discussed above show how the Battle
of Culloden had a wider impact beyond Scotland
and the Rebellion itself. The fact that news of the
Jacobite defeat spread to Ireland in a relatively
short amount of time combined with the letters
from the Perceval Papers (D906/85) and the
Perceval-Maxwell Papers (T1023/33/1) in which
both letters mention the detention of French (non-
British) prisoners highlights a European context to
the thinking of the time.
The letter sent to Sir Robert Wilmot, the Secretary
to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland regarding the
defeat adds a political dimension to this
perspective (D2738/5/6). Arguably, the socio-
economic legacy of the battle may be highlighted
by the fact that in the archive D2738/5/6 (the D.
McLaughlin papers) it is written that emigration for
some began shortly after the Jacobite defeat. This
emigration for example, has allowed the battle and
its aftermath to become entwined in the folklore
and national identity of Scotland despite the wider
European aspect to the legacy.
All the records discussed are open and accessible
to the public and may be viewed in the Public
Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). I would
like to thank the Deputy Keeper of the Records,
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland for
permission to publish the above quotes and
images and I would also like to acknowledge the
Derbyshire Record Office who hold the original
records of the Wilmot papers (PRONI ref T3019).
Alan W Robertson
Public Record Office of Northern
Ireland
Page 6 Newsletter Summer 2012
Page 7 Newsletter Summer 2012
Training Officer’s Report
Our next training event will take place on the 13th
September. This will be the now annual joint event
together with the Information and Records
Management Society.
The general theme this year is an overview of
retention scheduling and related issues. The barrister
Eugenie Houston will be our keynote speaker,
discussing legislation in this area. The other speakers
will be Mark Farrell of Arcline, Brendan Murphy and
Noelle Dowling. The Irish Architectural Archive are
once again kindly accommodating this event.
We would hope for a good attendance at this training
day; it's a great chance to meet and connect with
our colleagues in the records management field.
You will all receive a formal notification via email,
but should you have any questions or need any
other information, please contact me at
As always, suggestions for future training events
are always welcome.
Sarah Poutch
Training Officer, ARA,I
It Won’t Be Long: The Preservation of Our Photographic
Heritage With a Little Help from My Friends… Just Imagine
Debra Hess Norris, Chair of the Art Conservation
Department and Professor of Photograph Conservation
at the University of Delaware, gave a two-day workshop
on the preservation of photographic collections on 16 -
17 July 2012, hosted by Trinity College Library,
Preservation & Conservation Department and
supported by the Irish Professional Conservators’ and
Restorers Association (IPCRA)
Debbie’s knowledge and enthusiasm for photographic
preservation and the ‘Fab Four’ (each lecture/talk
started and finished with an anecdote and a Beatles
photograph), ensured that everything from the tintype
to cellulose acetate film negative was covered.
The workshop gave participants the opportunity to
identify common photographic print materials,
salted paper, albumen, silver gelatin, and
chromogenic colour processes. Debbie provided
examples of each, emphasising key differences
between them. She described the component
parts of photographs: support (paper, glass, ion,
silver plate...); binder (albumen, collodion, gelatin)
and final image material (silver dyes, pigments,
platinum, gold, iron salts). Participants also learnt
about common preservation problems and
practical conservation solutions.
Damien Burke
Irish Jesuit Archives
Page 8 Newsletter Summer 2012
The historic University Calendars of National
University Ireland, Galway, have been made available
on-line following a recent digitisation initiative at the
James Hardiman Library. Founded in 1845 as Queen's
College Galway, the Historic Calendar project provides
a truly unique insight into the history, development
and achievements of Galway's university, as well as
full graduate lists of its alumni. This project provides
digital access to the calendars from 1851 to 1934 and
tracks the movement of the University from Queen's
College to University College Galway to its present
identity of National University of Ireland, Galway.
Queen's College, Galway, was founded by Letters
Patent under "the Great Seal of Ireland", bearing the
date the 30th of December, 1845, and was
administered by a Governing Body which consisted of
a President, Vice-President, and Bursar and included a
faculty and academic staff of twenty Professors as well
as the University Librarian and a Curator of the
University Museum.
The Professors were divided into three faculties: Arts,
Medicine, and Law. The Faculty of Arts was further
divided into Literary and Science divisions. The
The Historic Calendars Project at the James Hardiman Library,
NUI Galway
literary division of the faculty consisted of
languages such as Greek and Latin and also
History and English Literature. The Science section
included Mathematics, Natural Philosophy,
Chemistry, Natural History, Logic and Metaphysics,
Mineralogy and Geology Civil Engineering and
Agriculture.
The Faculty of Medicine featured courses on
Anatomy and Physiology, the Practice of Medicine,
Practice of Surgery, Material Medica and
Midwifery. The faculty of law included the
Professors of English Law, Jurisprudence and
Political Economy.
The calendars offer a detailed account of the
course structure and content of a given course at
Queen's College and the entrance requirements
and expected course work of the students. The
prescribed reading lists for students across all
disciplines also appear.
Other rules and regulations which were outlined to
all prospective students was the code of discipline.
This stipulated, for instance, "That no student shall
appear within the College gates, except in
academic costume; and that for every violation of
this rule a fine of one shilling be incurred.
"Students could also expect to face disciplinary
measures if they fell afoul of the following offences:
"Habitual neglect of attendance, for divine worship, at
such church or chapel as shall be approved by his
parents or guardians, Habitual neglect of attendance
on the religious instruction provided for students of his
Church or denomination in the licensed boarding-
house in which he may reside, Immoral or dishonest
practices, Treasonable or seditious conduct,
Drunkenness, Grievous offences against College rules
or discipline, Wilful and serious injury to the property
of the College."
Also of interest to scholars of the history of education
in Ireland or of those of the development of particular
subjects or disciplines are the exam papers. The
Calendars feature annual exam papers for each course
and discipline within each faculty and detail the exam
process as well as method and type of examination
expected by students.
The period 1845 - 1934 covers a challenging and
turbulent time in Irish history. Queen's College was
founded just as famine was devastating the population
in the West of Ireland and also nationally, and
continues to trace education and social history in
Ireland that ran parallel to the likes of the foundation
of the Land League, the Home Rule Movement, The
Easter Rising, World War I, the War of Independence
and the Civil War and also during unrest in mainland
Europe. Some of these political and social changes are
reflected in the Calendars with the Irish language and
cló Gaelach increasingly being used after 1926. The
increased use of the Irish language in the
university is just one important initiative that was
debated around this time and also was considered
in the revised Irish Universities Act of 1929. The
calendars are a vital resource in studying and
examining third level education in Ireland while
also providing a record of those who studied and
taught at the College and University.
Advertisements and references to local services
and businesses offer an important social reflection
of those suppliers who were servicing the college
and its population at the time. The historic
calendars will also play an important role for
genealogical researchers as well as research of
local history in the West of Ireland.
The calendars of Queen's College Galway/
University College Galway are available in full and
online at this link:
http://archives.library.nuigalway.ie/calendars
Further digital projects from the James Hardiman
Library can be viewed here: http://
www.library.nuigalway.ie/collections/archives/
digitisedarchives/
Barry Houlihan
James Hardiman Library, NUI,G
Page 9 Newsletter Summer 2012
Report from the Regional Representative
Since the AGM, Dr Julie Brooks has joined me to share
the role of Irish Regional Representative. We both feel
it is a good way of being involved in ARA, while
sharing the responsibilities of being an officer on the
committee. Our joint appointment was approved by
the membership attending the meeting on 19 July and
by David Mander, the chairman of the Committee for
the Nations and Regions (CfNR).
The last meeting of the Committee for the Nations
and Regions was a telephone conference call on 9
July. (The meeting is attended by the regional
representatives of all eleven regions of ARA).
John Chambers attended the meeting and
reported on current developments including that
Caroline Williams (formerly of the National
Archives and University of Liverpool) is examining
Continuing Professional Development for ARA and
carrying out a survey of members. In 2013 there will
be a core training programme in place accessible to
the membership in all the regions. This training
programme will complement the Registration
Scheme,
Carl Newton (records manager, with decades of
experience in industry) has been selected to prepare a
records management policy for ARA. He will be
contacting the regions about their record keeping.
The records of the Irish region are held at the
National Archives but it was agreed that copy minutes
of meetings and newsletters should also be sent to
ARA archives.
The Society of Archives’ Journal will be published for
the last time in October. From next April is will be
redesigned and known as Archives and Records. Our
journal is recognised as a ‘grade I learned journal’ by
the European Union and the Arts and Humanities
Research Council.
The new ARA code of ethics is on the website. The
website will soon have a complete calendar of all
events being held by all the different regions, to
enable members to attend training, visits or
presentations that might interest them in other
regions.
The University of Liverpool’s MA programme has just
been accredited by ARA for the next five years. There
are six MA programmes in archives and records
management accredited by the Archives and
Records Association's Qualifications Accreditation
Committee: University College Dublin; University of
Wales, Aberystwyth; University of Dundee;
University of Glasgow; University of Liverpool and
University College London. The universities invite
ARA to accredit their programmes, usually every
five years. The process involves a two day visit by
three members of the Qualifications Accreditation
Committee. New programmes can apply for
qualified accreditation after operating for full one
year and full accreditation after the programme has
been in operation for three years.
The Archives Services Accreditation Scheme has
circulated the first draft of its standards for archives
services. Currently, this is planned for the UK and
Northern Ireland. In August the archives sector will
be able to comment on the scheme. This will be
followed by a pilot scheme being launched this
autumn, which will provide further feedback. The
official launch will be in the Spring of 2013.
The next meeting of the CfNR is in London on 12
October 2012. If there is any matter you would like
to bring to the attention of the other regions or to
the Board of ARA, do contact me
([email protected]) or Julie Brooks
Mary Mackey
Regional Representative, ARA,I
Page 10 Newsletter Summer 2012
Thompson Engineering, Hanover Works, Carlow
For the past two years I have been working as a
Preservation Assistant in the National Archives
sorting and boxing their varied collection of business
records. These collections can consist of anything
from a single ledger of a corner shop to a large
collection of a multinational business that takes up
many bays of shelving. One of the latter collections
held in the National Archives is that of Thompson
Engineering, Hanover Works, Carlow.
The company was founded in 1877 by Thomas
Thompson, a member of the Society of Friends,
who came over from England in 1870. The
engineering firm specialised in the repairing and
manufacturing of machinery, chiefly threshing sets,
portable and later steam. The company was mainly
based in the old Carlow Gaol after it closed in 1897.
It was renamed “Hanover Works” and operated
well into the early 1990’s.
During World War 1 the Hanover Works became a
munitions factory, making ammunition cases and
Bristol Fighter Wings for the newly created Royal Air
Force. A couple of these timber-framed linen covered
sets of wings still survive in Carlow’s own county
museum and the Aviation Museum at Shannon
Airport.
After the war Thompson's reverted to building work.
The Bishop Foley Schools (built with the cut stone
from Duckett's Grove Mansion), Carlow Sugar Beet
Factory, St. Clare's, Church Graiguecullen, to mention
only three of their contributions to Carlow town. On a
national level Thompson Engineering built Ireland’s
first suspension bridge over the Liffey in 1906. More
recently they built the Eastlink Bridge and the Liffey
Millennium Bridge whose central 41m span was
manufactured at their Carlow workshop and
transported and lifted into place in one piece.
When World War 2 erupted Thompson’s built
armoured cars for the Irish Army that were a model of
do-it-yourself ingenuity in copying the Rolls Royce
armoured car except that proper armour plate was not
obtainable at the time so instead half inch steel plate
was used mounted on an ordinary Ford or Dodge
lorry chassis. Its most interesting feature was the
rotating turret with its heavy ball mounted Vickers gun
that could swivel in all directions, including upwards
against air attack and steeply downwards to repel
boarders. This ball-mounting was subsequently
adopted by the British for their Ferret scout car. Some
of these vehicles were sent out to the Congo with the
Irish army in 1961 and saw action. When the Irish U.N.
contingent left the Congo they were taken over by the
U.N. and ended their days in General Mobutu’s army.
Along with the armoured cars Thompsons also built a
fleet of horse drawn canal barges for use during the
Emergency to cope with the wartime fuel emergency
by carrying turf to Dublin as owing to coal shortages
many railway services were cut back. These boats were
known as G-boats.
The records themselves date from 1855 which
predates the founding of the Thompsons Engineering
firm as a number of other firms were acquired by
Thompsons over the years. One of these acquired
firms was the Neptune Iron Works whose books (1856
-1878) detail the building of ships at Waterford giving
particulars of vessels, weight, value, launch date etc.
Other books in the Thompsons collection include
the Waterford (Bilberry) Brick Company and Messrs
Allied Iron Founders Ltd.
Records of great interest concerning the
Thompsons firm itself include the Estimate Books
containing plans, drawings, tenders for various
buildings, steam engines etc. There is also a run of
forty damp press letter books from 1859 to 1951
although unfortunately many of the books from
1901 to 1940 are missing. There is also incoming
correspondence from the Ministry of Munitions for
1917 relating to the manufacture of artillery shell
cases.
Lastly as stated earlier Thomas Thompson was a
member of the Society of Friends and within the
collection there is a Minute Book of Quarterly
Meetings of the Leinster Province of the Society
from 1859 to 1880.
Edward O’Mahony
Page 11 Newsletter Summer 2012
Within PRONI’s archival holdings is a private records
collection, numbered D1567, relating to the Staples
family of Lissan House, Co Tyrone. The Staples family
papers comprise over nearly 8,000 documents and
volumes, and document the family’s history from the
late 17th century through to the earliest 20th century.
The Baronetal family of Staples have links not only to
Cookstown in Co Tyrone, where the Lissan estate was
founded, but also familial links to Dunmore, in Co
Laois in the Republic of Ireland. Most of the archive
material relates to the family’s estates, business and
political interest in Cos Tyrone and Londonderry, and
also in Co Antrim.
The family’s history in Ulster can be traced back to
Thomas Staples who left Bristol in the 17th century to
settle in the Moneymore region of Ulster. Following
the acquisition of some land, he built an iron forge on
the banks of Lissan Water, the traditional boundary
between the counties of Londonderry and Tyrone. He
was proclaimed a Baronet in 1628 and following his
marriage to Charity Jones, the only child of the
wealthy Sir Baptist Jones, he acquired a large cash
settlement and many acres of good land, and the
Lissan Estate was born. It was his son Robert who
was to build Lissan House in the early-mid 17th
century and the house underwent various
transformations through the Georgian, Regency and
Victorian eras until the late 20th century when it
began to fall into decline.
Some of you may remember the BBC Restoration
programme from 2003, in which Lissan House was the
runner up, and came second to the Public Baths in
Manchester. Following this publicity, the Lissan Trust
was formed and the first phase of restoration is now
complete. It was the wishes of the last owner of the
house, the late Hazel Dolling (and daughter of Vera
Staples) that the house did not simply wither and die,
but should be put to some fruitful purpose. So the
Friends of Lissan Trust was founded, towards the end
of Hazel’s lifetime and the effects of her Will were
very clear in stipulating that the residue of her estate
should be put into the Trust.
Today, following the success of the Friends of Lissan
Trust and some external funding Lissan House is, as
the website advertises, an ‘enchanting country
residence set within a 250 acre demesne of ancient
woodland and forestry.’ On the sixth anniversary of
Hazel’s death, on 24 April 2012, the Friends of Lissan
House opened the doors to the public. Modern
interactive exhibits blend with historical artefacts in
this homely building, and it is very easy to feel at
home at Lissan, nestled into its hillside estate with
nature and wildlife within easy reach. Further
restoration work is planned and there is no doubt that
Lissan will ultimately rival neighbouring National Trust
properties in its appeal.
The archive has come to PRONI piecemeal and the
latest accession arrived in April this year, from the
Friends of Lissan Trust, and so it was given a separate
section (D1567/H) within the archive due to its
differing provenance (i.e. not from the family itself).
This latest accession includes a range of title deeds
and leases (D1567/H/1), the earliest of which a Deed
dating to 1637 in which James, Archbishop of Armagh
grants Lissan to Thomas Staples. Later deeds
invariably document the business of a busy estate,
and reveal local social networks including a number of
joint leases granted by Thomas Staples of Lissan
together with his neighbour Charles Caulfield of
Castlestewart. A variety of testamentary documents
also fall within D1567/H/2 and from these, it is
possible to trace the generational history of the
Staples family. In the late 19th century, Sir John
Molesworth Staples was the subject of an Order of
Lunacy and so D1567/H/3 is taken up with associated
documents, signing in of Trustees to administer his
estate, etc.
Financial papers (D1567/H/3) and correspondence
(D1567/H/4) make up the next two sections and it is
in the final ‘Miscellaneous’ section (D1567/H/6) where
the last two documents are archived. The first is a
Pedigree tracing back the family tree to the late 18th
century, and the second is a bound volume that could
perhaps be described as a Commonplace Book, which
contains some fabulous sketches, caricatures and
annotations relating to the Staples family. This latest
accession is another chapter in the history of Lissan
House, but yet an earlier chapter remains (‘archivally’-
speaking at least) elusive!
Another portion of the archive remains uncatalogued
Page 12 Newsletter Summer 2012
An introduction to the Staples family of Lissan House
and it is hoped that cataloguing will commence on
this section later this year. Representing the final
deposit of material by Hazel Dolling in 2006, this
section (D1567/G) is very much Hazel’s Lissan and
contains many of her own writings on the history of
the estate, but also within this section are the diaries
and other ephemera relating to Sir Robert Ponsonby
Staples (1853-1943), 12th Baronet of Lissan, one of
Ulster’s best known artists. Although he did live in
London and was well known within artistic circles
there, he did return to Lissan to look after the Estate
on behalf of his older brother, John (the subject of the
aforementioned lunacy order).
Hopefully a further report can be made once this
cataloguing has taken place and put firmly on the
archival map one of Ulster’s best-known artists.
Watch this space!
Bethany Sinclair
PRONI
Page 13 Newsletter Summer 2012
Christo Regi in Honorem: 1932 Eucharistic Congress Exhibition
The 2012 International Eucharistic Congress was held
in Dublin from 10-17 June. Pilgrims came from all
over the world to attend the various workshops,
seminars, exhibitions and religious events. As part of
the celebrations, the Dublin Diocesan Archives put on
an exhibition on one of the largest public events ever
held in Ireland, the 1932 Eucharistic Congress.
With only four months advance notice, the Archives
immediately got to work. There are 27 archival boxes
of material in the Diocesan collection excluding
scrapbooks, newspapers, photographs and drawings.
Committee Minutes were read, advance programmes
scrutinised and slowly a picture began to emerge of
not only a well organised event but one that involved
people from all over the world. The biggest problem
now was what to include.
With time an ever looming factor, decisions had to be
made very quickly. My colleague, Peter Sobolewski,
and I chose different headings to focus the exhibition.
These included the definition of a Eucharistic
Congress and previous venues; visiting prelates and
what happened them after 1932; the organisers; the
arrival of the Papal Legate; the social events including
the Blackrock Garden Party; the street decorations in
Spiritual Bouquet from Australia, offering prayers for the
success of the 1932 Congress
Dublin and throughout Ireland; spiritual bouquets;
international pilgrims; catering and accommoda-
tion; the Boy Scouts; religious ceremonies; and the
aftermath of the Congress.
The venue for the exhibition was the RDS Library
and not enough thanks and praise can be given to
Gerard Whelan and all the staff there who made us
feel so welcome and offered much needed advice
and guidance as the Archives had never put on an
exhibition before. The Library was a perfect venue
original film had been sitting in a fire proof safe in
the storage area of the Diocesan Archives for 80
years. I would hate to think what would have
happened if they had ignited! It was however too
late to use this footage in the exhibition and the
Radharc Trust stepped in and gave us permission
to use the 50th anniversary programme they
filmed in 1982. It is very entertaining, not only
showing original 1932 footage and photographs
but it had people recalling their memories of the
event. Some of these were so funny and the film
certainly added to the exhibition.
Final telegram sent by Cardinal Lauri as he left Ireland en
route back to Rome
The exhibition was formally opened on 31 May by
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Mr. Fonsie
Mealy, President of the RDS and it ran for three
weeks. During Congress week alone over 5000
people visited and enjoyed the exhibition. More
items were donated and put on display including a
model of the altar used for the final Benediction
on O’Connell Bridge which had been made by
William Cooper, 25 years old in 1932; letters and
memorabilia of Vincent O’Brien, Musical Director
of the Congress; the Papal Award given to Frank
O’Reilly, Congress Organiser; and a beautiful
framed print of Mary, Queen of Ireland by the
artist Leo Whelan. I have since learned that this
piece had been commissioned by M.H. Gill and
the original was destroyed in a fire. Again it
brought back many memories to those who
visited the exhibition as they remembered it
hanging in their homes as children.
Page 14 Newsletter Summer 2012
and as the main 2012 Congress events were being
held in the RDS, it meant it was easily accessed by all
who wished to attend.
Tenders were put out for the design work and the
contract was awarded to Yellowstone
Communications and Design. Drafts of text and
images became a daily feature and 1932 took over
all our lives. At this stage, Suzanne Hynes, offered
her services to us as a volunteer and she added
greatly to the team.
On 24 April veterans of the 1932 Congress were
invited to the Green Isle Hotel for a day honouring
them. The Archives put on a small display of
material and from that many more items were
secured, both as donations and loans, for the main
exhibition. The personal stories of the veterans were
extraordinary and the day spent with them gave us a
renewed spirit and will to make it the best that we
could.
The Pro Cathedral came on board and offered us the
loan of plate used during the religious ceremonies
and a set of 1932 vestments made by Lilly and Lottie
Yeats, sister of W.B. and Jack Yeats. The vestments
were made using hand woven gold thread and
illustrate the Four Evangelists. They were a major
attraction during the exhibition and further
academic work on them will now take place.
A decision was taken early on to have some form of
multimedia presentation. We had obtained an
original recording of the Papal Address from 1932
but even with digital enhancement the quality of the
sound was too poor to use for exhibition purposes.
In fact all our ventures into the world of multimedia
proved difficult. One of the biggest complications
was the conversion of the 1932 reels of film that we
hope to use in the exhibition. The four reels had
been sent for conversion in Dublin but the studio
could not do them so they were shipped to a studio
in the UK. It was only when a senior technician
examined them that it was discovered they were
made from cellulose nitrate! The studio had to be
closed, the fire department called and the reels put
into fire-proof storage. They did not have a licence
to have such films in their labs but they managed to
find one studio that did the conversion and the DVD
copies arrived back with a few days to spare. The
Page 15 Newsletter Summer 2012
The exhibition was an extraordinary success. What
made it so special were the people who took the
time to visit and who told us their stories. Some
came on silent pilgrimage in honour of parents who
had passed on while others had been there as
children. One 98 year old sat for over an hour and
entertained all of us with his tale of travelling from
Co. Antrim with his parents for the final Mass in the
Phoenix Park. The details were so vivid in his
memory that the Mass could have been said
yesterday. The 1932 Eucharistic Congress was an
extraordinary event and I am so glad the Archives
had the opportunity of telling, in some small way,
its story. The exhibition has now been moved
back to the Diocesan Archives.
Noelle Dowling
Dublin Diocesan Archivist
,
UK Premiere of Ground Zero 360° -
A Photographic Retrospective at PRONI
During May 2012, the Public Record Office of Northern
Ireland (PRONI) was delighted to host the UK premiere
of Ground Zero 360°. This photographic exhibition
uses harrowing visuals, chilling audio clips and a
unique panoramic installation to depict the startling
aftermath of one of the most tragic events in American
history - ‘9/11’. Launched by NI Culture Minister Carál
Ní Chuilín on 2 May, attendees included the US Acting
Deputy Consul General, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer
of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and
the Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of
Northern Ireland. The exhibition ran until 25th May
2012 at PRONI’s state of the art new building in
Belfast’s historic Titanic Quarter and marked PRONI’s
first opportunity to showcase an international
exhibition of this calibre.
On 11 September 2001, New York City was shaken to
its core when two jet airliners crashed into the Twin
Towers of the World Trade Center. In the wake of the
chaos, New York based Irish photographer Nicola
McClean picked up her camera and took thousands of
photographs near Ground Zero and the surrounding
neighbourhoods, working to capture the chaos
engulfing the city as well as the efforts of police
officers, firefighters and other emergency workers.
Emergency workers at the Ground Zero site.
Nicola and husband Paul McCormack, an NYPD
police Captain who was part of the rescue effort,
have together created an exhibition called
Ground Zero 360° to honour the victims and
their families and to never forget the sacrifice of
so many on that terrible day. The exhibition had
Page 16 Newsletter Summer 2012
its international debut in autumn 2011, marking
the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, when it
was exhibited simultaneously at the National
Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin and
the Chicago Field Museum in the US. PRONI was
pleased to act as host for the UK premiere earlier
this year.
Visitors to Ground Zero 360° at PRONI were able to
hear previously unreleased emergency radio calls
from that morning, witness the heartbreaking
“missing posters” and touch a fragment of twisted
steel I-beam from the World Trade Center. Also on
view were personal artefacts lent by the families of
a police officer and a firefighter who lost their lives
at the World Trade Center, crosses cut from the
steel by ironworkers and a flag that flew over the
Ground Zero site.
The exhibition also included commissioned artwork
by celebrated Dublin born artist Jim Fitzpatrick,
famous for his legendary 1968 red and black poster
of Che Guevara, who also attended the launch.
Two paintings from his ‘Lament for the Fallen’ 9/11
commemorative series were on display, including
a world exclusive of 'NYPD 23' and an image of the
iconic 'Father Mychal Judge'.
The exhibition proved popular with staff and
visitors alike, and PRONI was pleased to welcome a
diverse mix of guests into PRONI to view Ground
Zero 360°, many of whom may not ordinarily have
visited the Record Office. Our Visitor Book records
many poignant messages of sympathy for the
bereaved and compliments on the exhibition,
including a touching comment from a local
survivor who had been rescued from the Twin
Towers.
PRONI plans to exhibit Ground Zero 360° again
next summer, to coincide with Belfast’s hosting of
the World Police and Fire Games in August 2013.
Thousands of competitors from emergency and
rescue services worldwide, along with family
members, friends and supporters, are set to visit
Northern Ireland and we hope this evocative
exhibition will encourage some of them to visit
PRONI.
For further information on Ground Zero 360 °
visits: www.groundzero360.org. Details of this and
forthcoming exhibitions and events at PRONI can
be found at www.proni.gov.uk.
Janet Hancock,
PRONI
NI Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín, exhibition curators Paul McCormack and Nicola
McLean and PRONI Director Aileen McClintock at the launch of Ground Zero 360, PRONI.
Page 17 Newsletter Summer 2012
Each year the ARA Ireland runs the ‘Archive
Awareness Campaign’ during National Heritage
Week (18th - 26th August 2012). This campaign
aims to celebrate our cultural heritage, encourage
community participation in events, promote the
awareness and increase the use of archives
amongst the public. The theme for this years
Campaign is, “Sport, Games and the Cultural
Olympiad” to coincide with the London 2012
Olympic Games. The campaign is being launched
on the evening of Thursday the 16th of August by
Gerald Nash TD. If you have any questions about
this year's campaign please contact [email protected]
Ross Higgins
Publicity Officer, ARA,I
Archive Awareness Campaign 2012
Page 18 Newsletter Summer 2012
In 1745 the foundation stone was laid for the new
town house of Robert FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare.
Kildare House – renamed Leinster House in 1766 when
the Earl became Duke of Leinster – was designed by
Richard Castle as a country house in town, a building
whose size and grandeur would reflect the power and
prestige of its owner. The entrance front of the new
house faced onto the recently laid out Molesworth
Street while the garden front looked east across
enclosed grounds to an expanse of undeveloped land
belonging to Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion. A friend
is supposed to have observed to the Earl that his new
house was located in a decidedly unfashionable area
of the city, to which FitzGerald replied ‘They will follow
me wherever I go’.
It would be Fitzwilliam and his land agents who would
ensure that the Earl of Kildare’s prophecy would come
true. Seizing the opportunity presented by the
construction of Leinster House, they began to develop
the immediately adjacent lands. John Rocque’s 1760
map of Dublin shows the process underway with a
number of houses built on what would become
Merrion Square West, but the Fitzwilliam Estate’s
approach was initially piecemeal rather than strategic
and was complicated by a dispute with the FitzGeralds
who were anxious to preserve their prospect from
Leinster House. The Estate’s intentions eventually
crystallised into the laying out of a highly ambitious
urban development, a large and imposing square first
delineated by the surveyor Jonathan Barker in a plan
dated 1762. Merrion Square had arrived.
Barker produced two further plans of the Square, the
first, dated 1764, showing the north and south sides
apparently complete and the second depicting a fully
developed square and new road, the nascent
Fitzwilliam Street. In reality progress was far
slower than these idealised portrayals suggested.
Beginning in 1762 at the west end of the north
side, the Fitzwilliam Estate leased plots on the
Square to speculative builders and developers,
stipulating that houses were to be built on the
plots and setting out broad parameters for those
houses in terms of materials and minimum
heights. Plots were released in strict sequence to
prevent cherry-picking and avoid gaps, but the
design of the individual houses was left to each
leasee. With a ready supply of building material
from the brick fields at Sandymount and
increasing demand for houses in the area,
especially after the elevation of the Earl of Kildare
to Duke of Leinster, steady progress was made.
The north side was completed by the mid 1780s
and the east side begun, with the south side
following through the 1790s.
‘A Plan of Merrion Street and the adjacent
Neighbourhood’ by Jonathan Barker, 1762. © National
Archives of Ireland.
The Fitzwilliam lands on which Merrion Square
was built were but the tip of a vast property
empire stretching across south Dublin to
Wicklow. These holdings were also delineated by
Merrion Square 250
An exhibition of drawings from the National Archives of Ireland at the Irish Architectural
Archive marking the 250th anniversary of the creation of Merrion Square.
Page 19 Newsletter Summer 2012
‘Actual Survey of the County of Dublin’ (part) by John Rocque,
1760 . Irish Architectural Archive 2008/104.1
John Rocque’s map of 1760 shows that some development
had taken place on Merrion Street in the decade and a half
since the construction of Leinster House began but Merrion
Square had yet to emerge
Barker in a series of maps dated 1762 and would
be the subject of further ambitions and highly
profitable development by the Fitzwilliams and
their successors, the Earls of Pembroke, over the
course of the nineteenth century.
The Irish Architectural Archive is very grateful to
the National Archives Advisory Council and the
National Archives of Ireland for placing the
drawings from the Pembroke Estate Papers on
loan in the Irish Architectural Archive. The Irish
Architectural Archive is also grateful for the
support provided for this exhibition by Fáilte
Ireland.
Colum O’Riordan
Irish Architectural Archive
